The very first thing to catch my eye was the cover image, depicting the bathroom from Christina’s own ‘Brook Cottage’. I love the the intricate detail and thickness of the white mirror over the sink, and the rustic hooks holding cozy bathrobes. The space proves that even floral plates can actually look lovely in a bathroom !

The book was a delightful read cover to cover, filled with design ideas for adding warmth and character to your home, even if you don’t consider your personal style to be ‘country’.

I often associate ‘country’ with ‘farmhouse’ but after I read the book, I found that ‘country’ style is not nearly as narrow a definition as I imagined, at least according to this author. Rather, ‘country’ is the medley of colors and textures, soft florals and cottons, and rustic objects paired with simple elements that are collected over time. ‘Country’ is the practice of creating a home that is beautiful, but most importantly, comfortable and lived in.

The book offers glimpses into Christina’s own home, plus others houses scattered throughout England, apartments in New York, and cottages dotting the east coast of the United States.

You’ll see a lot of classic English country design that stems from the author’s own love of relaxed and comfortable rooms filled with painted furniture and feminine florals.

If you’re passionate about older homes with character, quirky antiques, or if you have your own collection of well loved objects, then you’ll gain a lot of inspiration from the pages of At Home With Country as I did.

Photography by Edina van der Wyck. All copyrighted images taken from At Home with Country by Christina Strutt and used with permission. CICO Books, $29.95; www.cicobooks.com.

If you want to read a great conversation with the designer and author Christina Strutt, take a peek at this interview over at HGTV.

And because we all love pretty pictures . . .

And you know you want another design book for your coffee table or for your bookshelf . . .

You can to be entered to win a copy of At Home With Country, simply by answering this question in a comment:

What does the word ‘Country’ mean to you?

I welcome random answers about music, homeland, or décor. Close your eyes, say ‘country’ then type what first comes to mind, no matter what it is. Can’t wait to hear it !

One winner will be sent your own copy direct from the publisher. Winner chosen at random. Giveaway ends Saturday September 11th at 8 p.m.

This entry was posted
on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 at and is filed under Inspiration.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

307 Responses to “At Home With Country: Review & Giveaway”

Leave a Reply

Hi, I'm Kate from Northern California. I'm a bargain hunter, design lover, and incurable DIYer. I'm on a quest for diamond style on a dime, and I'm out to make my world fabulous, for less, one do-it-yourself project at a time. Learn more.